Ball players are often interested in knowing the speed with which a ball is thrown, both for training purposes and for simply enhancing the play value of a game. One approach to timing a thrown ball involves use of a Doppler Radar System in which the frequency shift of a radar beam reflected from a moving ball is processed to determine the ball's speed. Systems of this type are highly accurate, but they are expensive, technically sophisticated and usually must be operated by a person other than the ball player. Because of these factors, use of systems of this type are generally restricted to organized sport teams.
Doppler Radar Systems are usually not available to individual players, and accordingly, there is a need for a simple, self-contained system for indicating ball speed. One approach to the problem involves the placing of an electronic timer within the ball. The timer is operable to measure the ball's time of flight over a measured distance, and on that basis determines the ball's speed. This approach is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,948 and in UK Patent Application No. 2,190,846. Systems of this type, while simpler than Doppler Radar measuring devices, are still fairly expensive. Also, they require the presence of a battery power source in the ball, and are somewhat difficult to operate. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,948 patent also describes a prior art mechanical system for indirectly determining a ball's speed. The described system is not self contained. It employs an internal timer for indicating the ball's time of flight and must be used in combination with a separate look-up table to determine the ball's speed. As is further noted in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,948 patent, the timer is unreliable, and the use of the look-up table complicates the utility of this approach.
It will be appreciated that a number of approaches to measuring a ball's speed have been implemented in the prior art, but such heretofore employed systems are complex, expensive and/or difficult to use and therefore of somewhat limited utility. The play value of a speed indicating ball is high and an item of this type would have a very large appeal to relatively young children; however, in order to be practical, any product oriented toward this market segment should be low in cost, rugged, self-contained and simple to operate. Therefore, it will be appreciated that there is a need for a speed indicating ball which is non electronic and which provides a direct readout of speed. An easy to manufacture, low cost item of this type will have significant utility as a promotional premium or mass-marketed toy.
The present invention provides a speed indicating ball which, as will be described in greater detail hereinbelow, is self-contained, non-electronic, and simple to manufacture and use. These and other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the drawings, discussion and description which follow.